Another week of quality European football has come and gone, and with it many new talking points, discussion topics and headline grabbing moments. Some sides are already preparing themselves for the knockout rounds, while others are starting to prepare themselves for the drop into the Europa League. Either way, with just 3 more rounds of fixtures, these developing stories are bound to keep growing and continuing in the coming weeks/months.

This seasons’ edition is possibly the most intriguing for some time, as superstar players have made shocking transfer moves, while it truly could be anyone trophy this year, with some major players at a crossroads, while others are steamrolling domestically and are a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League.

After the halfway point of the group stages, we have an insight into the tournament, and what is to come in the coming weeks and months. In this post, we have picked out a few headline talking points from the second round of group games to digest and take forward. We will be producing these posts every Champions League week, so if something catches your eye, let us know about it on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and we might just include it.

Enjoy.

He’s Done It Again…

For more information, please see previous post…

That’s what it feels like writing this headline piece, as that man again has done the business for Manchester United in the Champions League. With his side again struggling to edge their opponents, and being booed off at half-time for a dire and horrific first half showing, the crowd were relived to see United finally wake up and play some football in the second period. It once again appeared to be a stalemate, until the time came in the final few moments and minutes, as Cristiano Ronaldo finished off his chance and turned what has been a fairly disappointing first half of the group stage, into 6 points from 9 and actually things look positive in the group table for Ole’s side. Questions will surely need to be asked, however those questions get a bit easier to answer when the club have nights like these.

Unbeatable…

We need to talk about Bayern Munich, they are just decimating their group opponents, have now gone 12 goals with 0 conceded, as they won their 3 group game from 3, knocking aside Barcelona, Shakhtar and now Benfica with ease. These are no easy opponents, and they are just brushing them to one side, and all the while, the domestic side of things are also ticking along nicely. They are obviously highly rated in the tournament, and these kind of results while others falter or appear weaker, put Bayern as sure-fire favourites for the tournament in my opinion at least.

Quietly Working…

Some sides have quietly gotten on with their business, and although necessarily ‘quiet’, Liverpool and Ajax have been ploughing through these opening 3 games, winning 3 from 3. Their wins have not made headlines in the most dramatic way as the ‘last-gasp winners’ from Manchester United or dominance of Bayern, however both Liverpool and Ajax have been so impressive in their performances, and watching the 90 minutes of these sides is fascinating as they not only get results, but they play such impressive football. Of course, it’s basic to simply say both Liverpool and Ajax play good football, but comparing this to the struggles of such huge clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid who are all slipping at points, both Liverpool and Ajax are remarkable and exciting to watch. Therefore, they have managed to bag the points against very tricky opponents, resulting in a strong chance of these clubs going very far in the tournament.